No Passport Required

Let's All Thank Technology

Regularly finding success deep-dropping requires good marksmanship and better than average boat handling skills. Unless you can carefully maintain your position over a particular piece of structure hundreds of feet below, you will only cash-in on a fraction of the deep water treasures that swarm the ocean floor.

Insuring your vessel is equipped with a powerful fish-finder solves a crucial piece of the fishing puzzle. Recently, I had a conversation with Elias Rodriguez, considered by many as one of the most knowledgeable anglers in all of South Florida. Elias has been working in the tackle industry for decades and is someone who has fished extensively both in the U.S. and abroad. He swears that having your electronics professionally installed will make a huge difference in the equipment's performance. Still, some guys make the mistake of purchasing a powerful color machine only to couple it with a sub-par transducer. High power thru-hull transducers are a must for effectively reading the bottom at such depths while on the drift, and while on the move. Proper placement and installation of the transducer helps eliminate issues with “noise” and “disturbance.”  Transducers need to be properly matched to the sonar unit and glassed-in by an experienced professional.

Boat Handling

Locating hot spots or areas likely to hold fish is only part of the equation. One challenge when fishing the bottom at such depths is maintaining proper boat position. This is where a chart plotter plays a critical role because it allows you to return to and accurately mark hot spots. Many deep water demersal species are tightly packed and will usually not stray far from the security of the structure and their brethren. Being off by only a few degrees can completely change the outcome of your trip. And regardless how skilled of a helmsman you consider yourself, attempting to deep-drop on windy, choppy days when your boat is drifting at more than 2.5 or 3.0 knots will prove frustrating.

Use your GPS to determine your drift rate and direction by shifting the boat into neutral and letting the current and wind take over. Once established, you can reposition so that you're fishing directly over the targeted bottom. On occasion, you'll need the aid of your boat’s engine(s) in order to maintain your position.